Public reassured by swine flu media coverage

Advertising and media coverage about swine flu reduced public concern and improved the uptake of useful, protective behaviours such as hand-washing, according to new research led by Professor Susan Michie, UCL Clinical, Educational & Health Psychology. The research, funded by the Department of Health's National Institute for Health Research, is published today in the journal Health Technology Assessment. The study looked at data from 36 telephone surveys with over 38,000 respondents which examined public attitudes to swine flu over the time course of the pandemic. The surveys were conducted at weekly intervals across the UK between 1 May 2009 and 10 January 2010 and examined how the public reacted throughout the pandemic and the reasons behind their behaviour. The authors found that the public generally showed low levels of behaviour change. For example, only a third of people were carrying tissues as recommended at the time by the government. Only 56 per cent of the general public said they would have the swine flu vaccine if offered it.